Appliance plug



Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE APPLIANCE PLUG Stephen Schaefer, White Plains, N. Y.

Application June 4, 1935, Serial No. 24,932

2 Claims. (Cl.173332) This invention relates to plug connectors particularly adapted for making an electric connection with fiatirons and other heating appliances.

An object of the invention is to provide a plug connector having spring clip terminals sealed in a Bakelite or other dielectric bodyformed in one piece to eliminate the use of assembly screws or bolts which frequently cause short circuits by working loose and dropping between the iron and the contact thereof.

A further object is to provide a plug connector having the wires from the cord or cable separated from each other by diverging ducts in a rubber grip to eliminate short circuits often caused by heat and pulling on wires that enter the plug body twisted or otherwise held together. 7

A further object is to provide a plug connector having a body bent at an oblique angle at the top to dispose the rubber grip at an oblique angle to the body for protecting the cable by preventing it from bending too abruptly, thus eliminating the use of the usual coil of spring wire adjacent to the upper end of the plug.

A further object is to provide a plug connector having the upper end of the grip split-to promote easy application of the wires to the ducts of the grip, and further having a rubber clamp ring encircling the split portion to hold the ca ble securely against being twisted in the plug.

80 With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part.-

of this specification,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a plug connector constructed in accordance with my invention. 4

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the plug connector shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the plug body taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a detail sectional view illustrating the method of securing the wires to the spring clip terminals.

Fig.'6 is a side elevation of the upper end portion of the grip.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, HI designates the plug body, the same being preferably formed of Bakelite or other dielectric material and being directed rearwardly at the top to extend at an oblique 5 angle to the plane of the body as shown. The body is provided at the top with a knob II for attaching the rubber grip hereinafter described and is provided with a pair of spaced channels i2 extending parallel with the axis of the body 10 and open through the top and bottom of the body. A spring clip terminal I3 is disposed in each channel and comprises a pair of spring jaws M which may be formed of two blanks of spring metal riveted together as shown at IS, the 15 tips of the jaws being flared outwardly as shown at I6 to permit the jaws being applied to contacts of various sizes and shapes carried by flatirons and other heating appliances,

The free end of each spring clip terminal also 20 comprises a pair of jaws ll, preferably one of the jaws being formed as a continuation of the blank forming one of the jaws' H, the mating jaw being riveted to the blank as shown at l8. The jaws ll are provided with crimps l9 and one of 25 the jaws I1 is bent rearwardly upon itself as shown at 20 to provide an arcuate abutment against which the wire 2| from the cord or cable 22 rides when being inserted and thus is guided accurately between the jaws. v

Set screws 23 are threaded through the body and enter the channels in registration with the crimps l9. The set screws are preferably formed of Bakelite and may be applied by a screw driver 2i to force the jaws 20 to close upon the wire 2| and crimp the wire as shown at 25 in Figure 1 between the crimps i9 01 the jaws so that dislodgement of the wire is positively prevented.

A rubber grip 26 is secured to the upper end 40 of the plug body, this grip being tapered in contour as best shown in Figure 3 and being provided at the lower end with a recess 21 to receive the knob II, the side walls of the recess being sufliciently thin to be resilient and hug the knob 45 tightly and form a firm connection between the knob and the grip. The grip is provided with a longitudinal slot 28 at the free end as best shown in Figures 3 and 6 and is also provided with, a circumferential groove 28 intermediate the ends 50 of the slot which receives a ru r clamp ring ll. The ring holds the split end of he grip clamped firmly against the cable 22 and prevents twisting of the cable while the slot 28 permits of the upper ends of the grip being spread apart to facilitate i6 application of the wires ii to the ducts 3| in the p- The ducts 3| diverge from the bottom of the slot 28 and open through the bottom of the recess 21 in alignment with the channels 12 in the plug body it. The diverging ducts hold the wires 21 separated from each other at all times, from the cable to the spring clip terminals, and in addition the separated wires are sealed in rubber, both of which features eliminate short circuits ordinarily caused by wires which are carried twisted together or otherwise held together to spring clip terminals, the heat adjacent the terminals and the constant flexing of the wires by pulling tending eventually to cause a short circuit. In the present invention moreover it will be noted that the clamp ring.3ll firmly binds the split end of the grip upon the cable so that twisting of the wires at their point of departure from the cable'is positively prevented and thus another source of short circuit is eliminated.

By referring again to Figure 1 it will be seen that the Bakelite body is formed in one piece instead of complementary halves secured together by screws or bolts as is the usual practice. The body may be initially formed in sections which are subsequently glued or otherwise cemented together after assembly of the spring clip terminals or may be molded with a collapsible or destructible core housing the spring clip terminals. At all events a one piece body is produced which will eliminate the use of assembly screws or bolts that frequently cause short circuits by becoming loose and dropping between the fiatiron and its contacts. are constricted intermediate the ends to provide a stop shoulder 32 which will prevent dislodgement of the spring clip terminals by contact with .the rivets i5 and i8 should there be a tendency tends over the knob H in forming a support for the plug connector when the flatiron is set on the back when not in use.

From the above description it is thought that It will be observed that the channels i2' the construction and operation of my invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

l. A plug connector comprising a body formed of dielectric material and having the upper end extending at an oblique angle to the plane of the body and terminating in a knob, spring clip terminals in said body having bifurcated upper ends adapted to receive conductor wires, screws carried by the body bearing against said bifurcated ends and adapted to clamp the ends upon said wire, there being crimps formed in said ends underneath the screws adapted to crimp the wires and prevent the wires pulling out from the terminals, and a rubber grip having a recess at the lower end receiving said knob and having an axial bore at the upper end adapted to receive a cable, said grip having ducts diverging from the bore to the bottom or said recess for conducting individual wires of the cable to said bifurcated ends of said terminals.

2. A plug connector comprising a body formed of dielectric material and having the upper end directed rearwardly at an oblique angle to the plane of the body and terminating in a knob, spring clip terminals in the body disposed at substantially parallel relation and having the upper ends bifurcated to provide spring jaws for receiving conductor Wires, screws carried by the body and adapted to exert pressure upon said jaws for crimping the wires between the jaws, and a rubber grip having a recess at one end receiving said knob and housing said screws, said grip being tapered from the knob to the extreme upper end and being provided with a circumferential rib intermediate the knob and the upper end, the extreme end of the grip being provided with an axial bore and being split laterally of the bore, there being a circumferential groove formed in the split portion, a rubber clamp ring in said groove, said grip having ducts diverging from the bore to the bottom of said recess, said bore being adapted to receive a cable and said ducts being adapted to conduct individual wires of the cable to said jaws, said clamp ring, said rib, and the portion of the grip surrounding said knob coacting in forming supports for the grip.

STEPHEN SCHAEF'ER. 

